Page 5 of Love Like Ours

She walked over to the fireplace and flipped on the gas, and the fire warmed up the space quickly.

Nothing had changed since she’d been here last. Had it been a full year? Christmas last year.

She’d missed coming home this year due to her classes. She should have made time. She’d planned a trip home for spring break. She had even purchased her tickets.

She stood on the bottom step of the stairs and glanced up. After taking a deep breath, she climbed them to stand directly outside of her mother’s room.

Her hand paused on the doorknob as she closed her eyes. She could perfectly see her mother’s room in her mind.

All of the walls had been stark white when they’d moved in. They’d saved money on the purchase by leaving them the basic color. That first year that they’d lived there, they had decorated and personalized each room to fit their personalities. They had painted her mother’s room a soft gray. Sophia had painted her walls a vibrant blue, one of her favorite shades.

For a moment, she thought about turning away from the door, just going to her own room and crying until she passed out from exhaustion.

An image of her mother smiling at her and telling her to take chances in life flashed in her mind. Her mother had encouraged her to go to New York for school when she’d had doubts.

Then she straightened her shoulders and opened her mother’s bedroom door.

The bed was made.

The bed where her mother had died.

Had Lucas made the bed or had Avery cleaned up?

Everything was in place. Perfect. Just the way her mother had kept it.

She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled one of the pillows up into a hug.

“Hi, Mom,” she said to the quiet room. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.” Her voice cracked. Tears rolled down her cheeks, soaking the pillowcase. “I should have been here.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, smelling the clean scent of the fabric softener mixed with the floral scent of her mother’s favorite perfume.

It was the latter that had her collapsing onto the bed as the tears overwhelmed her.